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The Greek parliament has ratified a hotly debated labor reform that enables 13-hour work shifts, in the face of strong opposition and nationwide protests.

The administration asserted the law will update the country's work laws, but critics from the progressive faction described it as a "legislative monstrosity."

Key Elements of the New Work Legislation

Under the newly enacted legislation, yearly overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the longer shift is optional, only affects the business sector, and can exclusively be used for up to thirty-seven days annually.

Parliamentary Backing and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by lawmakers from the governing centre-right political group, with the moderate faction – currently the main opposition – voting against the bill, while the progressive group abstained.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the law's repeal this month that brought transportation and services to a stop.

Government Justification and Worker Safeguards

The Labor Minister defended the legislation, claiming the changes bring in line Greek laws with modern labor-market conditions, and accused opposition leaders of misinforming the public.

The laws will provide workers the option to take on extra work with the same employer for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they cannot be dismissed for declining overtime.

The measure complies with European Union working-time rules, which limit the average workweek to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow adjustments over 12 months, according to the government.

Opposition Perspectives and Labor Responses

But, critics have accused the government of weakening workers' rights and "pushing the nation back to a labor middle age." They argue local employees currently work longer hours than the majority of EU citizens while receiving lower pay and still "struggle to make ends meet."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of excessive labor."

Previous Workplace Changes and Financial Background

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day work schedule for certain sectors in a attempt to boost economic growth.

New laws, which started at the beginning of the summer, permit employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

EU Labor Data and Greek Economic Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest average hours were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania.
• The lowest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.
• Starting January 2025, the nation's national minimum wage was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in August compared with an European mean of five point nine percent, figures from Eurostat show.
• The country is recovering since its prolonged financial troubles, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and quality of life remain among the lowest in the European Union.